The Heart of the Dragon

“Hey, shithead. Get that dragon of yours under control. Right. Fucking. Now. Or I'm going to light your ass on fire and watch you burn.”

I glanced up to see Isaac the traitorous blood spawn, emerging from a sleek, unfamiliar vehicle - one of the "fancy sports cars" or whatever they called them here in this Goddess forsaken realm.

The dick's expression was hard, his eyes flashing with a hint of dragon. As if that was supposed to make me back down.

With my chest and throat still throbbing with dragonfire, I could do nothing more than shoot him a vicious growl.

It was the only warning he’d get before I burned him to ash if he dared to take another step in my direction.

“Isaac!” Kitra called, rounding the nose of the vehicle while glaring at her mate. "Don't!"

If I could take a breath without pain shooting through my entire body, I would laugh at the withering look she gave us both. It didn't matter what realm we were in, his mate took no shit.

Of course, when you had blood magic to back up your words…
However, seeing her flooded my mind with memories I couldn't shake. Years of blood and destruction haunted me, flashing before my eyes in vivid, sickening detail.

The screams of the innocent, the acrid smell of burning flesh, and the weight of countless lives lost by my own claws—all threatening to drown me in a sea of guilt and regret. I struggled to push the images away, but they clung to me like a second skin, a constant reminder of the monster I truly was.

And after three months in this modern hellhole, I still couldn’t take control of my own mind. I was teetering on the edge as time continued to run out.

As usual, the dragon was already pressing against my skin, pushing for his freedom, and would soon burst free.

Three long months of unleashed rage that refused to go away.

“Magnus?” She looked over at me with wide, fearful eyes. “Are you okay?”

“You shouldn’t be here,” I rasped. "It's not safe."

"Is that some kind of threat against my mate?" Isaac's dragon flashed in his eyes again and across his skin in the form of black scales. "You must have a death wish."

My beast was far from pleased, its fury bubbling just beneath the skin. It would gladly accept his challenge if that's what he desired, but in reality, I craved respite. This unrelenting urge to incinerate and demolish was wearing me down. I couldn't take much more.

"Everyone just relax," Kitra interrupted again. "Magnus, please. I know you're struggling, but we need to work together. We can help you." I could see the concern in her eyes and feel her blood magic reaching out to me, and I wanted no part of it.

"No!" I roared in her direction, fighting with the beast inside me who wanted to attack. "Stay away from me." I didn't want her anymore involved in this disaster than she already was. And I certainly didn't need anything from him.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” Kitra whispered gently. Thanks to acute dragon hearing, I caught every cautious word, but my mind was giving way to the dragon, whether I liked it or not.

“Speak for yourself. I’m tired of chasing him down. This has to end. Even if that means—”

"Isaac, you're not helping."

"Can you blame me? Can't you see he's lost the ability to control his dragon? He can barely speak. We can't have a feral dragon roaming the earth out here. He's going to get us all killed."

"I can still talk," I growled, my voice rougher than ever. Although I wasn't going to admit to him what a struggle it had become.

Kitra tentatively reached for me again, and I sidestepped away from her.

"Good. Then tell us what you need. What can we do? You're putting all of our kind at risk."

"That's for sure," Isaac said. "Every time we clean up behind you, it's getting harder and harder to mask the truth. Even Kitra's magic has its limitations."

I wasn't sure what he wanted me to say. I could barely think past the pain since I'd been pulled through the portal. That night, something had snapped in me, and it had been almost relentless ever since.

"Magnus, you have to help us help you. Tell us what's going on. I've never seen you like this before."

"Send me back." I wanted to go home.

"No can do," Isaac answered. "That portal is closed for a reason, and it has to stay that way. We can't risk any more breaches. Dealing with one out-of-control dragon is enough."

"You don't want to go back. The King would take control of you again. He's still strong there. Even now I can feel it. There has to be something else we can do. If we can fix whatever the problem is, you can be free here."

Kitra had more kindness in her than anyone deserved, but especially me. I'd done horrible things to her in the name of our King. And she wasn't the only one. It truly was a wonder that Isaac hadn't fought harder to kill me by now. He was well within his rights.

My stomach twisted at the memories of the past, and the dragon roared in my head. He didn’t like the pain, but I was tired of him using that as an excuse to steal my control.

I looked over at the man who by blood was my brother, and yet I felt absolutely no connection to. I'd known his arrival in the fae realm those months ago did not bode well. However, I'd underestimated how dire the consequences would actually be.

"You are the one who forced me here. All of this is on you."

Kitra winced at my accusation. Gaining her mother's power had made her even more powerful than the king had feared. The use of blood magic had been outlawed in all the realms for good reason. No one person should possess such volatile magic.

"Don't blame her, fucker. You were the one chasing us and trying to cause problems for us every step of the way. If you don't like the outcome, well, that's just too fucking bad."

A wild roar ripped from my mouth along with a trail of fire that singed the earth at Isaac's feet. If he wanted to become part of my latest dragon barbecue, I was more than ready to accommodate him. His arrogance had been a problem from the beginning, and if he was to be the new dragon king in this realm, I couldn’t stay here.

"Magnus, stop!" Kitra ran towards me before I could stop her, magic pouring from her fingertips.

Isaac's reaction was immediate and fierce, his body tensing as his dragon ripped through his skin at the same time as mine. The furious roar that erupted from him echoed through the air in deadly waves.
The anger between us thickened the air with smoke, ash, and the sound of roaring flames. The acrid scent of scorched earth filled our nostrils, a testament to the destructive power we both wielded. Our dragon forms, mine green, his black, towered over the landscape, casting ominous shadows across the ground.

As the tension mounted, it was clear that the stakes were too high. We could fight to the death, but our power and skills were nearly identical. A battle between us was more likely to end with us both going down in a blaze of destruction.

The thought of our shared blood being spilled sent a chill down my spine, despite the inferno raging around us. Our uncle, the bastard king, would revel in our demise, as the path to total domination of both realms would be cleared.

More smoke and fire erupted from my throat, which I barely managed to keep from hitting Kitra. I did, however, deflect her magic, but the dark kiss of it on my senses fed something deep and black slithering through my soul.

Years of magical manipulation at the King's hand had left a permanent mark and an unquenchable thirst for more. My dragonfire drank in that darkness as if it were some sort of life force. She must have realized what I was doing and stopped.

But it was too late. I had what I needed, and the dragon once again took what he wanted.

My mind.

I couldn't fight. Or stop anything.

My last thought before he took complete control was that maybe Isaac was right. If I couldn’t get my dragon under control, and this thirst for darkness satiated, then I represented too much danger.

There’d be no choice but to end this by ending me.