The Dragon's Flame, page 1
THE DRAGON'S FLAME
Kell City Chronicles, Adelyn & Khan Book Two
M. C. CORKRAN
Fearless Inklings, LLC
Copyright © 2022 by M. C. Corkran
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Edited by Katie Wismer
Cover Design by BY THE BROOKE DESIGNS
ISBN 979-8-9861999-3-1 (paperback)
ISBN 979-8-986199-2-4 (ebook)
Created with Vellum
For my amazing alpha reader,
who helped me make the book the best it could be,
Carol (better known as Grandma and Gigi)
-
(Yes, my grandma read this and critiqued this for me)
(Yes, my grandma is cooler than everyone else’s)
(No, I will not be sharing my cool grandma)
CONTENTS
1. Khan
2. Adelyn
3. Khan
4. Adelyn
5. Khan
6. Adelyn
7. Khan
8. Adelyn
9. Khan
10. Adelyn
11. Khan
12. Adelyn
13. Khan
14. Adelyn
15. Khan
16. Adelyn
17. Khan
18. Adelyn
19. Adelyn
20. Khan
21. Khan
22. Adelyn
23. Khan
24. Adelyn
25. Khan
26. Khan
27. Adelyn
28. Khan
29. Adelyn
30. Khan
Epilogue
About the Author
Connect with Me
Books By M. C. Corkran
1
KHAN
A gun fired from somewhere behind me, and a bullet nicked my ear, a sharp pain ripping through my skin before warm blood trickled down the lobe. Several voices clamored over each other in a language I didn’t understand.
“Fuck.”
I hadn’t expected them to catch up to me so fast.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed my wings harder, harder, harder.
Eventually, I lost sight of the Brazilian farmers or foresters or God knows what. But I wasn’t in the clear just yet.
Somewhere, only a few miles away, Seamus or, more likely, one of his lackies, held my Flame and whispered into it for me to come closer.
I perched on a branch of one of the rainforest’s tall-as-fuck trees, the under canopy hopefully hiding me from below, even if only for a few moments to rest my wings. I wasn’t used to flying this much, and I was feeling the effects of pushing myself too hard.
The moment my head fell back against the rough bark, though, Addy’s smiling, laughing face popped into my head, making my heart leap.
Fucking God, I missed her.
Who knew heartache could hurt this bad? Maybe it had been a good thing I’d stayed away from love all these years.
In my mind, her smile was replaced by pained grimaces as I stabbed the knife deeper into her side. I couldn’t think about her anymore without remembering the way I had almost killed her.
Then again, I thought as I opened my eyes, once was more than enough for a whole damn lifetime. Besides, leaving her was for her own good. I couldn’t be responsible for hurting her again.
Something tugged in my chest to go home, though it wasn’t the thought of Addy in my arms this time, but a certain Flame willing me to rejoin it.
I groaned and took a running leap off the branch. The short break was nowhere near enough, not by a long shot, but it was enough for me to push through the aches and pains a little while longer.
As much as I wanted to rest, I knew I wouldn’t be able to, not for a very long time, anyway. Not until Seamus Malloy got off my back.
Eventually, the pull of the Flame faded into a dull throbbing, and I knew I had bought myself another few hours. Only then did I let myself look for a more permanent shelter than the semi-hidden branches of a tree.
I just needed to close my eyes for more than a second. I didn’t even care for how much longer than that.
I flew under an almost full moon, which shone over a tiny village in the middle of the wild jungle.
Thankfully, the village seemed abandoned.
I landed on the outskirts and carefully studied the huts that barely stood, let alone looked sturdy. There was no smoke, no smell of food, no other sign of life.
Once I found a building that I thought might be big enough to fit my tall frame—and not collapse on me in the middle of my nap—I opened the door. Or tried to, at least. The humidity of the Amazon and disuse of the door had made the damn thing swell in the frame and get stuck.
I ended up kicking the entire frame in, which threw enough dust up into the air to cover the Sahara Desert.
It didn’t take long for the dust to settle on the flat surfaces, and me along with it. My eyes closed before my ass hit the ground.
God knows how long I managed to sleep this time before I was rudely interrupted by someone clearing their throat and promptly sneezing.
I readied myself to leap at the person who tried sneaking up on me before I had opened my eyes. But when I finally did open them, I saw only Thomas standing there, at a safe distance though.
He smiled when he saw me staring at him. It looked like he had tried to copy my smirk but wasn’t quite there yet.
“Good to see you alive, Sleepy Head,” he said.
“Why the fuck are you here?” I demanded as I dragged myself to my feet. “And how the fuck did you find me?”
“It wasn’t that hard to find the large, winged man flying south through the Amazon rainforest for the winter.”
The smirk didn’t fit Thomas, not the boy I had practically pulled from the streets by the skin of his teeth.
Or fangs, rather.
I had been the one to pull him off his first feed as a fresh vampire and took him home to Dahlia to decide what to do with.
It was ironic that Dahlia sent him to bring me back home.
“That only answered one of my questions, asshole.” I pulled myself to standing straight up, a big knot forming in the base of my neck. “Why are you here?”
Of course, I knew the answer before he opened his big mouth, but I needed to hear it. I didn’t even know why I did.
“Dahlia sent me.” Thomas shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “She wants you to come back home. She says ‘it doesn’t matter what Seamus has up his sleeve; we can figure it out as a family.’ Her words, not mine.”
“She wasted your time, and ya wasted her hope.”
Thomas’ face fell a fraction, though he tried his best to hide it.
“Look, Khan, I know I wasn’t with you or Dahlia during the fight, but it can’t be so bad that you have to leave home. As long as I’ve known you, I’ve known that you were a rock, a fucking anchor, for everyone in the family. You’re more than Dahlia’s personal security or muscle. You’ve been there for me from the very beginning, and from what I’ve seen of yours and Adelyn’s relationship, you’ve given her a place where she can be herself.”
I harrumphed. “Ya don’t know anythin’, Thomas. It was that bad. Did ya hear exactly what I almost did?”
His silence was answer enough.
“That’s what I thought. I’m stayin’ away for the sake of everyone’s safety and wellbein’, yours included.”
“But I heard that it wasn’t your doing. You were forced to do those things to Adelyn. It wasn’t your fault, Khan. And I know everyone would be more than happy to help you move forward to free you from Seamus.”
“Ya don’t get it!” Thomas flinched at my shout. “There’s nothin’ anyone can do to help me without gettin’ close to me and me gettin’ close to Seamus, which puts everyone within reach in danger. Like usual.”
Thomas stared at me, like he didn’t quite know what to say, though that didn’t last long.
“I heard Lilly say that you tried to fight it, otherwise Adelyn wouldn’t be alive right now. That’s something, isn’t it? Some kind of proof that you aren’t putting everyone in danger like you thought you were.”
I ground my teeth. “The only reason Addy is alive right now is because everyone came to our rescue in time and Thalia was there to heal the majority of her wounds. I woulda killed her if Dahlia had gotten there even a minute later.”
Another beat of silence.
“So, what should I tell Dahlia?”
“Tell her…” I had to think about it a second. “Tell her that I miss her, and I wish, more than anythin’ that I could return with ya, but I can’t risk Seamus findin’ out that I’m back in Kell and use me to hurt her or anyone else.”
Thomas nodded and turned to leave my makeshift shelter.
“Wait,” I said, grabbing his shoulder. “Would ya be able to pass a message on to Addy?”
His brows furrowed.
“I’m not really sure. I haven’t seen her since you left two weeks ago. The only people that have seen her are Dahlia, Lilly, and her sister. Apparently, she hasn’t left your bedroom. Refuses to even get out of bed.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “Shit, I didn’t know…I didn’t want to hurt her when I left. I just wanted to protect her.”
“I can pass that message along to Dahlia when I see her, but it’ll be up to her if she wants to relay that to Adelyn or not.”
I nodded. “That’s all I can ask for. Safe travels.”
Thomas looked at me with the saddest eyes. “You too.” And with that, he disappeared into the forest.
2
ADELYN
“Addy,” Lilly said as she sat down on the bed beside me, “I think it’s time to get out of bed.”
I stared at the ceiling unblinkingly.
“You don’t have to leave the house,” she continued, “but at least stand up, walk around, take a shower. But please, I’m begging you, do something.”
She’d been trying to get me out of bed for the better part of this week, with the occasional help from Thalia and Dahlia.
My sister hesitated at the door of Khan’s bedroom, which I’d claimed as my own when he left, leaving my room open for Thalia to take up residence next door.
Lilly placed a hand on my back and rubbed gentle circles against Khan’s shirt that I couldn’t bear to take off, despite the fact it had stopped smelling like him days ago.
“Come on, just to the shower,” Thalia chimed in.
“You know, Maya keeps asking if she can come see you and bring you some ice cream,” Lilly whispered.
The thoughtfulness of the sweet girl made me smile, at least a little bit.
“I saw that smile, Addy, no matter how much you’re trying to ignore me.” Lilly poked my side. “When do you think I can tell her she can come see you?”
I wanted to answer her, I really did, but I couldn’t find the strength to open my mouth.
My silence fell like a heavy hammer.
I could feel both of their gazes on my back, expecting something from me, even though I had nothing left to give. I just hoped that they would leave to go about their business for the day sooner rather than later.
A click-clack of heels approached the bedroom.
“Any updates?” Dahlia whispered. At least, she tried to.
“She hasn’t even said anything.” Thalia’s whisper was as quiet as Dahlia’s.
The mafia leader moved deeper into the room. “Thomas came back today with a full report, though it was certainly not the one I wanted to hear.”
“Did he see—?” Thalia started but cut herself short.
Not in enough time though. I already knew all about Thomas’ mission and what he was looking for. Rather, who he was looking for.
They really needed to learn how to whisper better.
“Why don’t we step outside, let Addy breathe for a minute?” Lilly’s suggestion would have been a welcome one if she wasn’t trying to make it so I couldn’t hear what Dahlia had to report about Khan’s whereabouts.
Tears welled up, and I prayed that Lilly didn’t see them. She would have put her entire day on halt if she saw me crying again, and she couldn’t afford to.
A storm of emotions raged inside me—anger and hurt thundered, worry struck like lightning, and yearning sat in the middle like an eye of the storm. No matter how much I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything but cry over the man.
Once Lilly, Dahlia, and Thalia left the room and cracked the door behind them, I rolled out of bed, tears still streaming freely down my face.
I snuck my way to the door. No way in hell was I going to miss news about Khan, even if it meant I would spend the rest of the day curled up and feeling sick in bed.
“—said that he couldn’t risk coming.” Dahlia’s voice slipped easily through the crack in the door. “He didn’t say that he didn’t want to come home, not in those words at least, but that he didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
Lilly scoffed. “A little late for that, isn’t it?”
“It sounds like he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened a couple weeks ago,” Thalia said, ever the voice of reason. “Like being responsible for killing someone would be worse than breaking their heart.”
“But what if that broken heart leads to someone dying? Have you seen Addy eat anything at all since he left? Besides, he didn’t have to leave. We could have figured something out together. Thomas was right—the fact that he didn’t kill Addy right away means that he can resist the commands given with the Flame.”
The three of them fell silent, and I could almost hear them thinking.
“Lilly,” Dahlia said eventually, “could I possibly send you to bring Khan’s ass back home? You make a logical point, and mix that with how you’ve seen his absence affect Addy, you probably have the best shot of anyone else bringing him back. We’re facing a war against my uncle, and we’ll need him on our side if we’re going to win. Plus, I’ve missed his sorry face almost as much as Adelyn has.”
“I want to go, even if just for Addy’s sake. But I have a daughter. I can’t just leave her here.”
“Of course you can,” Dahlia said. I pictured her crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ve double, triple checked. Damian was the only hole in security. There is no safer place than the compound now. Besides, she wouldn’t be alone. She has me and Thalia. And Addy, if she gets up while you’re gone.”
Lilly hesitated.
“Are you sure you can take care of her?”
“Of course,” Lilly said. “My work at the compound clinic isn’t too heavy as of right now. She can come and sit with me during the days. We already live in the same house. As long as you’re comfortable with it, that is.”
Lilly let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine, but I hope you know that I’m going to make Khan pay for a lot of shit he’s put us through, whether or not he comes back.”
“Oh, you absolutely have my permission,” Dahlia said. “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I have a fuck ton of things that require my attention today. I’ll have Thomas arrange your travels and keep you updated on where Khan is heading.”
I took that as my cue to sneak back into bed. As soon as I found myself in the position they had left me in, the front door of the duplex slammed open and shut, and Lilly came back in.
The bed sank as she sat down and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t know how much of that you heard,” Lilly said. “The two of them need some lessons on how to talk quieter. But I’m going to go after Khan this time, see if I have any better luck bringing him back. I shouldn’t be gone longer than a week. I know it’s a lot to ask right now, but if Maya needs someone she knows well, could you be there for her?”
At that, I turned to her, the first time she’d seen me move since getting home from the battle.
I still couldn’t bring myself to speak, but I nodded and gripped her hand tightly, squeezing it three times.
“Thanks, hon.” She stood. “And I’ll do my best to bring him home to you.”
She squeezed my hand back and left, probably to prepare to travel wherever Khan had gone now. I didn’t know what I hoped would happen, so I let myself stare off into the dark.
I drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the day, not wanting to stay away, but not being able to sleep without dreaming of him.
Around one in the morning, the clock said, Khan’s bedroom door creaked open.
I didn’t want to open my eyes in case Lilly had returned for some late-night coercing me out of bed.
But it was little feet that pattered over to my bed and a little body that slid into bed with me.
Eventually, I opened my eyes to find Maya staring at me with her overly large brown eyes.
“Hey Mayaboo, is everything alright?” I asked with my hoarse voice, pushing myself onto my elbows.
She studied me. “I could ask you the same thing, Aunt Addy. I haven’t seen you in forever, and Mama said that I shouldn’t disturb you until you’re ready, but I really, really missed you.”
