Chapter Text
A throng of nobles in glittering finery surrounded me, captivated by the amusing tale I’m weaving. They leaned in closer as I paused and took a sip of my drink. They had been hanging on my every word for the past ten minutes, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the attention. Though I inhaled to continue my story, the words never escaped my lips.
Screaming erupted across the room, and I turned to the largest fire I had ever seen filling the room. It was a huge, swirling vortex coming down from the ceiling. When it touched the floor, the vortex solidified into the form of a dragon, smoke billowing from its flared nostrils and fire still swirling under its skin. The glowing red eyes locked on me with a deep fury that made my knees quake.
For the first time in my life that I could remember, I felt heat. If I could have looked down, I would have seen that my dress was ablaze. Instead, I was rooted where I stood, staring up into the face of my family’s reckoning. My reckoning. The intense heat was only the first taste of the agony that waited in my sacrifice, and it terrified me to no end. The beast simply stood there and exhaled smoke as it waited for me to make my decision. There was no otherworldly voice demanding atonement with an eloquent speech as I had expected. For this spirit, it seemed that its intimidating presence and my knowledge of my family’s curse were supposed to be enough for me to willingly lay down my life.
“Genevieve!”
The shout forcefully drew my attention from the dragon, making me aware of the panicked mob around me. I searched for the voice that sounded so wrong saying that name, and I found Logan forcing his way through the crowd towards me. As he worked to close the distance, I could see a dark streak of blood dripping down his left cheek and a bleeding wound in his left arm. My breathing hitched at the sight of the familiar tear mark I hoped he would never wear.
A few seconds later, Logan arrived at my side. As he reached for my hand to pull me behind him, a roar sounded from above us, and the dragon’s furious gaze shifted from me to Logan. A burst of flames spewed from the dragon’s mouth to engulf both of us. I screamed and crumpled to the ground, my tattered dress hardly reaching my knees now. A single tear rolled down my cheek, and I was once more unable to feel the heat.
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I sat up in bed and drew my knees to my chest. Sobs wracked my entire body as I struggled to breathe. I had thought nothing could be worse than reliving what happened to Tida, but I was so very wrong. Although I knew it was only a dream, what I really wanted to do was march right up to Ulvgrata and make sure the big oaf was alive and well. I’m sure that a woman showing up in the middle of the night to check on one of his sons would go over quite well with the Ulfmaster.
I sighed in the darkness, knowing that dawn was only a couple hours away. It was highly unlikely that my mind would settle enough for any more sleep. Instead, I slipped out of bed and washed my face in the basin, hoping to erase some of the signs of my nightmare. Once I dressed for the day, I walked to the stables. Cleaning tack would help clear my mind, and Logan would surely be in for a ride at some point for me to see him living and breathing and not engulfed in flames.