Forbidden Embers by Tessa Adams Read Free Book Online Page B

back to the compound and let Simone look at her arm. But she wasn’t ready to go back there yet, didn’t want word of how Julian had savaged her to get around the clan. That she’d let him do it would be just one more strike against her.
    Confused, annoyed and in pain, she headed across the clearing for her favorite tree. This spot atop the highest of the Black Hills was her spot, and she’d been coming here for years to think or just to escape the darkness of her father’s house. In the past few years, she’d come so often that she’d hidden a secret stash of clothes inside one of the trees.
    It made things easier for her, especially now, when the last thing she wanted to do was land naked in the middle of the Wyvernmoon compound. She didn’t think anyone would harm her, but without a father and a brother, the protection of her station extended only so far, especially with the higher-ranked families in the clan. She hated it, hated that she no longer felt safe in the only home she had ever known, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to change it. At least not until she had amassed enough power as queen that they would be afraid to take her on, or until she finally decided on a husband.
    The fact that she was now considering getting married only made her regret harder to bear. And yet it might be worth it, she thought for the first time. Might be worth it still to accede to her father’s wishes, though everything inside of her rebelled at the thought. Ambition was too rampant among the dragons, and letting them continue to compete for the title basically meant declaring open season, and she couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t do that. Most everyone knew of her father’s plans to marry her off to Julian, though. If she chose him, if she married him, the infighting would stop. Julian was one of the strongest dragons in the clan, no doubt about it. If she elevated him to royalty, the clan might finally have a chance to heal, even as it doomed her to life with a sadistic asshole.
    But isn’t that the price of royalty? she mused. The price for all the riches and respect and perks that came with being a member of the ruling family? The absolute determination to do what was right for your people, despite the personal cost. And in this case, the personal cost would be almost unbearable. She had no doubt that marriage to Julian would leave her broken, no matter how hard she fought to stay whole.
    Absently, she reached into the knotty hole in the huge spruce tree where she always kept a change of clothes in a waterproof backpack. Her hand met nothing but air. Frowning, she reached for a branch and hoisted herself up so she could peer inside the opening, in case she had somehow shoved the bag farther back than usual the last time.
    But no, there was nothing there. She glanced around at the landscape, made sure she had the right tree. She did. So where the hell was her backpack?
    She shoved her hand deeper into the tree. Had one of the animals run off with it? The idea seemed more than strange. What would a squirrel or even a bobcat want with her old backpack? But she had a hard time coming up with another alternative. She was high enough in the Black Hills that few tourists ever came here, and she’d made sure to hide the backpack far enough off the ground that the few who did wander this way would never find it.
    The other Wyvernmoons didn’t come up here, either. They much preferred the caves and caverns down below to the heavy woods up here. All the trees hemmed them in, made it difficult for them to stretch their wings or fly, as most of them couldn’t take off or land without room to speed up or slow down.
    Frustrated, she continued feeling around in the hole, certain that she must simply be missing her bag. Her next hidey-hole was nearly two hundred miles away, and while that was only an hour and a half by flight, she was tired and cold and more than a little grumpy. Not to mention the fact that her arm hurt.
    Damn it!