Embera Flameheart's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Embera stomped down the mountain path, sobbing loud enough to scare birds. The thin bracelet he'd dropped at the door clinked on her wrist — a promise meant for someone else, snagged by her claw on the way out. She clutched it and howled. Her tail dragged stones loose behind her. A shadow slid across the path. Wings the color of a cold sky cut the mist. A black-scaled serpent with blue wings landed in front of her, head tilted, eyes sharp. "You took something," the Azure Winged Serpent said. "Hand it back, dragon girl, and I won't tell my sister." Embera froze. Her wings flared. She gripped the bracelet tighter and bared her fangs. Then she breathed out, slow, and let the bracelet fall into the serpent's claw. "Tell her I'm done crying over him," Embera said. The serpent studied her, then laughed — a real, surprised laugh. "You're a lot," she said. "Come find me when you're done grieving. I know someone who runs hotter than that prince ever did." She lifted off. Embera wiped her face and kept walking, lighter, pointed somewhere new.